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| Azad,soz watch each other’s moves | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Apr 13
Both the Union Minister for Water Resources and the PCC Chief, Prof. Saifuddin Soz and Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, view each other with suspicion. Azad has fears that his importance in the AICC and in the centre was, day in and day out, being threatened by Prof. Soz. This threat perception further increased when Prof. Soz was appointed PCC President against the wishes of Azad. However, the Chief Minister saw the writing on the wall and accepted Prof Soz as PCC President and decided to cooperate with him.
Inside reports said that both Soz and Azad have decided to watch each others' moves carefully lest one among the two should get outwitted and outclassed .That Azad continues to attach due importance to the Central Congress leaders instead of bothering about those congressmen who have pockets of influence in Jammu and Kashmir was manifest during Saturday's visit of Sonia Gandhi to the states' winter capital. At the parade ground, where Sonia Gandhi addressed a convention of women, there was one chair on the dais vacant and Prof. Soz was trying to occupy that seat. Ghulam Nabi Azad, on seeing Soz stepping forward, started inviting Shivraj Patil, Union Home Minister to occupy the chair. Soz saw it and he, while taking his seat in the chair pulled another chair from the back row for Patil.
Azad has been AICC general secretary and Union Minister for several years which had given him the advantage of being close to the seat of power in Delhi. He has remained close to the policy makers whether during Indira Gandhi's rule or that of Rajiv Gandhi or that of Narasimha Rao. His equation with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is so close that whenever he wishes to meet the prime Minister the appointment is given at the drop of the hat. Informed sources said that the era of developmental activities Azad has ushered in Jammu and Kashmir since the day he took over as Chief Minister has further endeared him to the central leadership. But Prof. Soz too has made inroads in the top echelons of the Congress high command and the union Government by his performance as Water Resources Minister. In fact he has stolen the show in the political circles in Delhi as a result of his success in not only keeping the congress-PDP coalition alive but also in acting as a mediator between some separatist leaders in Kashmir and the centre.
Though the Congress high command is expected to select party candidates for the ensuing Assembly election on the basis of the list prepared by the party's parliamentary board, the role of Prof. Soz and Azad was to be pivotal in picking up the candidates. It is here that the clash of the titans would surface. And it would be watched with interest whether the congress high command will give weightage to both Azad and Soz or prefer one of the two. Those Congress legislators and senior functionaries, most of them belonging to the Jammu region, who had been initially opposed to the installation of Prof. Soz as PCC President have now gradually fallen in line and have started supporting him. The reason for their initial opposition to Soz's appointment as PCC Chief was that he belonged to the valley but when they have compared his style of functioning they have started liking him. Soz has not hesitated in interacting with ordinary party activists. He has been usually willing to discuss the party affairs with Congress legislators. Supporters of Prof. Soz rubbish campaign against their leader by trying to convince Azad's supporters that Prof. Soz was being projected as the Chief Minister by the congress high command after the election. They say that Soz has no such ambition and feels happy with the present assignment in the union cabinet. |
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